Lokomotiv Kuban raised its record to 2-1 in Group E by outlasting Fraport Skyliners 83-60 on Tuesday in Krasnodar, Russia. Jeremiah Massey led the way for Lokomotiv with 18 points and 7 rebounds, Ali Traore amassed a double-double of 17 point and 10 boards, Lionel Chalmers drilled 17 with 5-for-7 shooting from downtown and Maxim Grigoryev had 10. Quartez Robertson drilled 15 for the visitors, Jermareo Davidson and Johannes Herbert netted 11 apiece and Michael “Juice” Thompson added 9. The gusts took a 21-26 early advantage in the second quarter, but a 15-0 Lokomotiv run late in the quarter changed the momentum of the game, with the home team leading 42-33. Another amazing 13-2 run late in the third quarter closed the game with the hosts leading 60-43 entering in the last quarter.

Thompson scored 4 points to give an early 3-6 advantage to Skyliners. A jumper by Roderick Blakney put Loko in front 7-6. The lead changed hands 6 times and the score was tied 3, the last one at 16-16 to finish the first quarter with a Herber mid-range jumper to beat the buzzer. Thompson opened the second nailing a deep three, but was answered by Blakney after Jeremiah Massey scored a pair from the line to put Lokomotiv up 21-19. Robertson with another long distance shot kept Fraport in front 21-26, however a Chalmers triple made it 27-28. Robertson and Chalmers remained on fire exchanging threes for 30-33 through midway the quarter. Traore scored 6 points and Massey the hit a three pointer of 15 unanswered points of the home team to lead 42-33 close to halftime. A jumper by Robertson made it 42-35 at the break.

Massey converted an offensive rebound to gain a double-digit cushion 47-37. Herber answered from beyond the arc, but a 9-0 run capped by Traore with a jumper from the top of the key gave a 56-41 cushion to the hosts. And after a jumper by Jermareo Davidson, another 6-0 spurt with a big dunk by Massey made it 60-43 at the end of the third quarter. Danilo Barthel and Marius Nolte fueled Skyliners early in the last quarter to 64-47 before Chalmers from downtown made it a 20-point game. Nothing changed in the last minutes with the teams finding easy baskets in the open court en route to a Lokomotiv Kuban victory.

Head Coaches

MALJKOVIC, BOZIDAR

Lokomotiv Kuban

"At the beginning of the game we used the pressing around the court. The opponents showed fast attacks and very exact shots. Having had a timeout we started defending seriously and succeeded in offense. We also controlled rebounds. We made mistakes but they were not serious enough to affect the course of the game. We have no high three-point shots’ percentage but surely we will improve in the next games. Tonight game is meaningful on the condition that we go on to win some road matches."

KATZURIN, MULI

Fraport Skyliners

"First of all I would like to congratulate Lokomotiv Kuban on the victory. The opponent played better and they deserved this win. We had a good start and we found the way to withstand the opponent’s force. We were in the game thanks to several easy baskets. The burst of Lokomotiv of 15-0 was the turning point. The second half was distinguished by proper Lokomotiv defense and our 23 turnovers affecting the outcome of the duel. Besides, the opponent’s bench was much deeper. Therefore they had more chances to use fresh players we didn’t have. Also we missed John Leuer. John got injured in the first half of the game. We are looking forward to meet Lokomotiv again in Frankfurt."

Players

BLAKNEY, RODERICK

Lokomotiv Kuban

"We beat a strong team tonight. Everyone played well. Our defense helped us to gain the win. This victory is the result of the team effort. At the very end we were especially serious. We were fighting for every point being extremely concentrated. Because in the future these points can be meaningful for us. We won by 23 points and that’s a good result for the team now. When I came to Krasnodar I faced inexorable pressure from the media. The team helped me to be adapted."

THOMPSON, MICHAEL

Fraport Skyliners

"In my mind we have done good work. We began well. But unfortunately we didn’t continue the second half in the same way. We seriously failed both offense and defense. We were slow and let Lokomotiv take many offensive rebounds that affected the outcome of the game."